Mysterious Existence

"Let me see—after sleeping for so many years, what sort of trash has barged into this place?"

An aged, hoarse voice drifted through the vast hall, as though it had broken free from an abyss that had existed for ten thousand years, carrying an aura of decay and authority.

Before the voice had faded, an immense and tyrannical force of divine sense descended abruptly, instantly shrouding every inch of the underground palace.

This divine sense was incomparably powerful, with no regard whatsoever for any cultivator's privacy or dignity. Like invisible mercury, it seeped through every opening into everyone's bodies, meridians, and even the deepest reaches of their souls, thoroughly examining them inside and out before slowly receding like a tide.

The entire inspection lasted only three or four breaths, yet every cultivator present felt as if a century had passed. Those with weaker cultivation had already gone pale, drenched in cold sweat as though they had just been fished out of water.

"One with Dual Spiritual Roots, one with a Heavenly Spiritual Root. Hmm... barely acceptable. But..." The voice paused slightly, carrying obvious displeasure and disdain. "How did such a filthy demon beast with such impure bloodline get in here?"

As he spoke, the demon cultivator in the distance, who had been warily crouching in a corner with a faint glow emanating from the horn atop its head, did not even have time to beg or scream before its entire body seemed to be seized by an invisible giant hand. Then, with a muffled bang, it exploded!

A bloody mist filled the air, and the stench instantly flooded their nostrils. A faint gray soul fluctuation, almost too weak to detect, had barely escaped from the blood mist when the gaunt old man seated on the stone throne atop the platform